There is no good sized trees around the feeder, so a tree stand is not an option.

Will a portable ground blind that is 20 - 30 yards away from the feeder is an acceptable set up? Or I am better off with a tripod stand?

Either way would be fine being it is a xbow. Im sure you are aware but you want to keep movement unseen.

Personally, if I shot a xbow, I would hunt out of a popup in your situation. I would have it out in probably early to Mid August and I would leave it there until January without moving it at all. I would brush it is as best as possible. My personal bow set ups that are pop ups look like a huge pile of brush when I get done. The way I see it, you cant put enough brush around one.

a crossbow in a pop up should work great, and ive never brushed mine in and have deer on corn in front of them within a day. brushing it in certainly wont hurt, but i dont think it is necessary, especially with a rifle or xbow.

good luck

I think the popup is the way to go in your situation. Go get 'em!

Thanks, guys.

Pop up blind is the way to go. I always brush mine in and I never leave them up anymore, they became black widow incubators the last time . Close all of the windows except for the one that you're planning on shooting out of, if possible. The darker inside the better, and less scent leaves the pop up. I hunt with my crossbow in pop ups almost always. I normally set up between 15-25 yrds from where I'm planning on shooting.

I filled all my deer tags in Texas back in 2011 with a cross bow from a popup blind (I blew out my shoulder playing softball and couldn't shoot a regular bow that year). My best advice is to take your time and shoot them straight in the heart. By being on the ground and shooting horizontal at them, you have less room for error. If you shoot high...between lungs and spine, your chances of recovery is very low. A lot of people shoot too high from ground because they are use to that angle from 20 feet in the air....it is a different aim point between the two setups.

yep pop up works.. I used one in south Texas for years.
I had a small platform only about 2 foot off the ground that I put the pop up on since I leave the pop up set up all season.
I was using a regular bow. X-bow would even work better. I never wanted to risk shooting threw the netting even though they say you can

I miss shooting a regular bow, my shoulder is not cooperating with that though at the moment. Going in tomorrow to get dye injected into it and another ride threw the MRI tube since the cortazone shots ain't workin'. Gotta figure out what's going on with it.

Same here. I've shot deer out of mine on the very next day. And all I did was back it up to some thick stuff. Brushing one in requires a LOT of work.
Deer are very adaptable. It won't take them long to adapt to something new being around like a pop up.

I hunt mostly popups and deer don't worry about them, don't brush them in much at all...some none at all.

We usually put ours up on labor day wkend so the deer get accustomed. One year my son decided he wanted to hunt with a xbow so we set up his popup Fri nite when we got to the lease and he shot a small buck Sat morning. the only thing about a popup vs an elevated stand is getting winded. Seems to be warm and sweaty most of Oct around here, so I like being elevated.

If hunting from a ground blind or one 3' off the ground, say a 4x4, how large do the windows have to be to shoot a crossbow out of? I'm thinking about getting a crossbow, so I don't have any experience with this. I have shot a compound bow out of a Live Oak tree, but only once that went high over the shoulder of a hog!

Depends on the width of the limbs, which will be different for recurve or compound type x-bows.

Good advice.Can never have enough brush/cover.

When I hunt from a ground blind with a bow/X bow I set it up to shoot in one particular direction, all other windows stay closed and brushed in. You should open up your shooting window only enough to match your shooting lane IMO, I try to keep the window as small as possible. Window might be half way opened, 3/4, or full just depends. Set it up at the house, sit in your chair and practice there. You may not like the feel or elevation of the chair etc...I try to do these things before I hit the field to set up. Cocking a crossbow in a pop up can also be difficult depending on your bow and your build. Again, I recommend trying all of this at the house or camp so that when you do hit the field to set up you are in & out quickly rather than being out there fiddle fartin' around making noise and leaving more scent.

I have no cattle right now and use this Midwest Haybale blind. It works very well.

i like them .i also always brush mine inn and keep most windows closed .also wear dark black clothing to match inside of blind